Microsoft opens new Windows 8 tablet studio in London

Rare's Lee Schuneman to lead team focused on "entertainment as service"

Microsoft is opening a new studio in London, focused on entertainment as a service and concentrating on the Windows 8 tablet format.

The team will be led by former Rare production director Lee Schuneman and report directly to Phil Harrison, corporate vice president of the interactive entertainment business in Europe.

Schuneman was behind Kinect Sports, the Xbox 360 avatars, Fable: The Journey and the Sky TV app. The new studio is Microsoft's fourth outfit alongside Rare, Lionhead and Soho Productions.

"I'm hugely excited by this new venture," said Lee Schuneman. "Adding a fourth UK-based studio to the incredible roster of talent already in place across Rare, Soho Productions and Lionhead not only increases our in-region studio presence, but will allow Microsoft Studios to explore the many creative and business opportunities that developing new games and entertainment experiences on Windows 8 tablet devices and platforms will afford."

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Anyway, hopefully this means they will be making some big mobile projects, which have been surprisingly absent from Microsoft's repertoire given the huge Windows Phone push. Let's see what they can do with Modern UI applications and hopefully games...

I heard MS are keeping some big titles back for the launch of windows 8 itself. How true that is, I don't know - but that's what I read. I've put Windows 8 on an Acer tablet. Really like it, and I find myself now swiping down to close apps on other tablets, forgetting they're not W8. It's quite intuitive.